PA Arrests Former Terrorist Leader

PA arrests Zakaria Zubeidi, the former commander of the Fatah movement’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Jenin.

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Elad Benari, 06/05/12 05:28

Jenin

Israel news photo: Flash 90

The Palestinian Authority’s security forces arrested on Saturday Zakaria Zubeidi, the former commander of the Fatah movement’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Jenin.

According to a report on the Haaretz website, the reason for the arrest is unclear.

Zubeidi is considered one of the most powerful men in Jenin, and recently there has been friction between him and the PA, the report said. The Fatah’s Secretary General in Jenin, Atta Abu Ramila, has also turned himself to PA security forces.

This is the second time in several months that Zubeidi has been arrested by the PA. In December, he turned himself in to the PA after claiming that Israel had canceled the pardon it had given him three years earlier and instructed him to hand himself in.

His status as a wanted criminal was cancelled a week after he turned himself in, Haaretz reported.

Zubeidi was admired by an Israeli woman, Tali Fahima, who crossed the lines to accompany him when he was wanted by the IDF. Fahima, who served jail time for treasonous activities in the service of Fatah, has since been released and converted into Islam.